Unfolding a mystery...

I didn't expect to be blogging this week but our trip to Germany was cancelled because of the snow - we got as far as sitting in the plane for 4 hours at London (Gatwick) Airport, then returned and slept (sic) on the floor in the terminal building before driving home, arriving back 24 hours after we'd left! The airport has been closed ever since, but the forecast is for temperatures to rise at the weekend and our trip has been provisionally rescheduled for next Tuesday-Friday.

I realised from comments received that iris folding is unknown to many crafters so have made use of my 'down time' by preparing detailed pictures to show just how it's done. My apologies for the poor colour balance: the first 3 were taken this morning in daylight and the others this afternoon when the light was on and I didn't think to turn it off and rely on flash.

The craft originated in Holland and the earliest folders there used the patterned insides of envelopes. I didn't think we had much variety in ours but having collected a boxful a few years ago I was agreeably surprised at what I found. However, in a rare fit of tidying my craft room the envelopes went for more traditional recycling and I now buy IF papers specially, sometimes sheets that I cut into strips 2cm (¾in) wide but more often pre-cut strips from specialist suppliers. I like to use papers with a sheen or sparkle, and plain or small patterned, but anything can be used according to the effect required. As long as the paper isn't too thick and will hold a crease, it will do.

The pattern shown is a photocopy from a Dutch book and the aperture card was sold specifically for this pattern, though it is possible to cut an aperture by hand using a copy of the pattern and a craft knife. The card goes face down over the pattern and is secured at one side with low tack tape - as you work on the back, this means you can flip the card over to see progress then flip it back to continue. The strips on the pattern are numbered (in this case) counterclockwise, spiralling from the outside towards the centre; the selected papers are arranged in chosen order and then the first strip cut or torn to the desired length, which goes from one side to the other of the aperture plus a little more to attach with a tiny piece of tape at each end. The folded edge is placed face down against the inner line of strip #1 on the pattern. How much to fold over is a personal choice - some instructions say fold in half but as long as the strip covers the desired area it isn't critical. Then the pattern is turned and strip #2 in the next colour is applied in the same way, then #3 likewise. The third photo (lower left, above) shows one round completed, to be followed by the fourth strip which will be the same colour as the first, and so on, always in numerical order and turning the pattern each time. (One of the chosen papers is coloured both sides, the others are white on the back). The lower right photo shows the tree after a couple more rounds had been added.


Photo #5 on the far left shows the work flipped to look at the front, when only a couple more rounds are needed. The picture on the right shows the finished piece before the centre patch is added, and finally (below) the completed work is seen from the front. The 'iris' in iris folding refers to the likeness of the folded strips and the centre patch to the shutter of a camera. It's important to work accurately and to keep checking the the appearance on the front, but if a mistake does occur it can be rectified by easing up one end of each overlapping strip, removing the errant colour and replacing it with the right one. The central iris is covered with a piece of contrasting paper at the end, then pieces of sticky tape applied over the back to squash the strips down and make firm folds.

The iris need not be a triangle, but the number of its sides governs the number of colours used: a tree lends itself to 3, of course, but if you look back at the holly leaf (entry for 21 November) you will see a pentagon in the centre and thus 5 colours, and the bauble (15 November) has a rectangle and four colours.

So now you know I'm not really ever so clever - it's simple enough for a child to do, it's fun and it's addictive. And there are more advanced/difficult methods of working for the truly addicted, and you can design your own patterns.....now that's what I call being clever!